The president of the United States will veto bills, will veto bills that spend too much.

One key reason is that the bill vetoed today was a carefully balanced compromise.

The bill vetoed last year would have limited punitive damges to $150,000 or the total of compensatory damages, whichever was higher.

Early that year, Assemblyman Stephens introduced a bill similar to the one Lehman had vetoed four years earlier.

We want this bill vetoed.

By "absolute veto" Fisher was referring to the fact that a bill that has been pocket vetoed cannot be overridden.

"But we do not want this bill vetoed," he said.

The bill vetoed today would strengthen the nation's ability to defend itself and its industries against trading practices of other nations that are deemed unfair.

"I don't want to see this bill vetoed."

The bill vetoed today was hurriedly written and enacted a day before the regular session ended.